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Collioure - Colour by
Med and Mountain by L Davies
 "Do
you want the mountains, or the sea?" our French friend asked. We had a
couple of days spare for some Pyrenean wanderings. We hesitated.
"I know", she said, pointing at the map " - you can have both! But
beware, you'll fall in love!" And so we did.
As soon as we stepped off
the train at the little platform above the bay, we knew this was special.
Walking down the quiet tree-lined avenue from the station and onto the
flag-stoned quay, the vista opened before us. The town shone, like brightly
coloured dominoes, stacked above the church beach (the Boramar plage) and
its little port (le Port D'Amont) set under a horizon of soft blue fading
to white sea mists. "This is it!" we said, almost simultaneously. We had
fallen in love, and hard.
Collioure is a tiny seaside
Mediterranean village, dating from Phoenician times, tucked into the foothills
of the Pyrenees at the far southern end of France, wrapped around a circular
bay, with all its historic charm, colour and character firmly intact. Only
20 km from Spain, it is in the heart of 'French Catalonia' - a region which
France claimed in 1659 - and has two cultures and three languages. Firmly
French with a historic vein of Catalan language and culture, locally celebrated
in festivals, food and dance, Collioure is a gem in a time-warp wrapped
in a landscape of light and warmth. Saved from the ravages of the developers
of the 70's and 80's, and avidly protected by its enthusiastic Mayor, it
has kept its true coastal village 'historique'.
Collioure is dramatic - one's
eyes are arrested by the 12th century lighthouse, now red copper-domed
bell tower for the church, lapped by the sea, the castle; whose block-like
layers jut into the water in the centre of the bay, the windmill among
the olive trees behind the Dominican convent (now wine cellar) and the
high hills topped by watchtowers founded by the Majorcan Kings.
 Collioure
is also poetic - set into a sea of majestic blue, framed by jutting headlands
and a landscape of leaning vineyards and split-rock retaining walls, cork
trees, thyme and rosemary scrubland, and the snow capped Mount Canigou
in the distance. All this light and colour brought Matisse and Derain here
in 1905. They established the Fauvist movement by painting on the balconies,
streets and quay fronts. Signac, Picasso, Dufy, Chagall, and Mackintosh
are others among the evolving constellation of artists who are still capturing
the town's spirit of colour and form. Patrick O'Brian, the author of 'Master
and Commander' and over 20 historical sea-novels, lived here for more than
50 hears and is buried here.
Strolling in the narrow flag-stoned
streets between high-coloured walls hung with geraniums and festooned with
blazing Bougainvillea, you walk through an ancient stone archway out onto
the waterfront. Sip a chilled white wine or sup gelati under a big yellow
umbrella by the limpid plane trees. French families revel in the clear
clean azure water, while two venerable Catalan ladies slice sausage onto
crusty bread on the beach. The church bell rings, peal by peal, and a wedding
procession walks by, past two painters capturing the midday light, one
in pastel, one in oils.
The sky is busy with swooping
swifts and martins, diving and swerving above the tiled roofs, playing
freely in the sun and feeding voraciously for their young. Songbirds crouch
and flit in the scented woods and shrubland between the vineyards, which
sweep, like sails drying in the sun, from behind the lower village to the
ridgeline topped by the strict geometry of the fortifications.
And the water! Lapping the
foot of the church tower quietly, we floated under the azure sky, watching
the strollers on the quay, the coloured sardine boats bobbing, and the
Sunday procession. The bell rings in single peals, the sound and light
reflecting off the glinting sea.
 This
is a 'living' village by the sea. Yes there are tourists, especially in
the months of July and August, though mostly French. But all year, the
town has its own rhythm. Twice weekly markets bursting with fresh fruit
and vegetables, cheese stalls, crusty breads and the heavenly scent of
racks of roasting chickens, ribs and sausages. The cycle of the wine year
- vendanges, wine making, pruning, festivities - and selling local wines
at the many 'caves' in the village and the surrounding area. Fishing -
now mainly in nearby Port Vendres (a 20 minute walk or 5 minute drive or
bus) with its fantastically diverse fish market open all week at 'La Criee'
tucked at the end of a true working port. Also the few village fishermen
who sell their night's catch early in the morning by the little dock. Anchovy
products are a town mainstay, with boutique vendors selling fillets and
'anchoiades' among the local honeys and olive oil.
The town is sufficiently
small but rich to the senses that a car isn't needed, and only people roam
in the old town and along the spectacular waterfront promenade. A village
for lazing on the beach and eating. A Catalan cuisine of grilled sardines
(a la planxcha), squid, tomatoes and peppers, easily washed down with a
local 'Collioure' red. Or for being athletic - we regularly swim across
the bay from one beach to another or walk the herb scented hills on paths
leading right from the village streets, and scuba and boating are readily
accessible. Or for being artistic - sketching or painting is a common pastime,
and there are even display frames that reproduce the views painted by Matisse
and Derain.
Or use it as a base to discover
the region. French and Spanish Cataluña: Dali's house at Cadaques
and Museum at Figueres are only an hour's drive, Barcelona two; the Pyrenees
and Andorra are easily reached by car or scenic train; the Cathar region
with its high castles and wines; the Tech and the Tet river valleys and
hill villages.
But it's the light that brings
people here, the colour and the water. At 42 deg N (our Australian home
is at 42 deg S), and with an average 320 days' sunshine a year, there's
always plenty of light!
It certainly called us back
again and again. We now own a small stone fishermen's house (www.collioure.com.au)
in the Faubourg quarter, less than a minute's walk from the sea.
Collioure Fact File -
Where to stay:
The Lemon House - www.collioure.com.au
About the Author:
The Davies, an Australian
family, own and manage a small renovated stone fisherman's house in Collioure,
which is available for rental all year round. It is found at www.collioure.com.au
Keywords : Collioure, accommodation,
holiday rental, vacation rental, rent, holiday let, accomodation, France
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